Ring of Revenge
by zac'sgirl27
Summary: Troy and Gabriella haven't seen each other since they were kids...now Gabriella goes to Harvard and Troy is an agent for the CIA...now something happens that neither of them would ever have expected...
1. Chapter 1

If there was only one way to clear one's mind, it was running. For Gabriella Montez, this was the only way she could straighten out her thoughts. Being 21 years old, with the stresses of going to Harvard University and the anticipation of Eric coming home from a school trip to Europe, was too much for her brain to handle. She just needed to relax her mind for an hour or two.

With long dark hair, chocolate brown eyes and a slim figure, Gabriella was easily a girl every guy would want. This was partly the reason that Eric liked her, or so she thought. She had met Eric Thompson 3 years ago at her very first Harvard student dance. Eric started to like her and so he asked her out. Then about a month ago he went on a school trip to Europe.

Gabriella had never really loved Eric, but he was the only guy she had had a slight attraction to. That is except for one person: Troy. Troy Bolton had been her childhood "sweetheart" and he had said when they were seven years old that they would one day be married. Gabriella had always believed that, until one day, he just disappeared. She never knew where he had gone and had never heard from him. So she went on with life and applied to Harvard University to major in Science/Math. She never forgot him.

As Gabriella was jogging down the park road, her mind floated to the mysterious note she had received yesterday. It was around 8:30 in the morning and she had been eating breakfast when there was a knock at the door. When she answered it, nobody was there. What puzzled her even more was that there was an envelope taped to the door, and it had her name on it. She had quickly closed the door and opened it. In ruby red letters it read:

**Please return what's rightfully mine and no harm will come to you.**

**T.M.**

She had no idea what it meant at the time. She had never stolen anything in her life, and never planned to. So after receiving the note she pushed it from her mind and focused on other things.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a scrubby looking man watching her from a far. HE had on an old and worn looking coat, a "could be" knitted scark and a cameo beanie hat. His face was dark and unshaven. And his eyes seemed to be a piercing green color that could kill anyone.

The man's attention was drawn away by a crying baby off in the distance. Gabriella, feeling slightly uncertain, continued to jog away, hoping he was just some scary looking man.

After around five minutes Gabriella started to feel a little more certain of herself, thinking she must of just over reacted about the man. But as she turned around, her heart skipped a few beats. The man was standing a couple hundred feet away. He was standing there reading an old newspaper. _He must be following me,_ Gabriella thought to herself. She continued to walk and noticed another man, similar to the one following her, sitting on a bench reading a book. She saw him glance at her. This made shivers run up and down her spine. It was definitely time to get out of there.

As she made her way for the exit of the park, she quickened her pace. This was a bad idea. The men suddenly started running after her. She saw one of them pull out a gun. This made her run at full speed towards the nearest place her could find to hide. A shot rang through the air and blasted part the left side of her. It missed. She kept running and entered a gas station on the corner. She quickly ran towards the women's restroom. As soon as she had closed the door she heard running footsteps outside. A man with a deep voice said, "She must not be here. Come on, let's check somewhere else." Gabriella heard footsteps go out the door. She heaved a great sigh, slid to the floor and said aloud:

"That was a close one."

!$!#$&()(&$$!#$$#$&&(()&&$$!#$

**(a/n: –**Just for your information, Troy works for the CIA and is very successful in doing his job. Just thought you should know that.)

**Washington DC, CIA building **

Troy looked up at the clock. 12:00. Lunch time. He got up from his desk and started to get his stuff when a knock came from the door of his office.

"Come in." he said.

"Hey Bolton, the boss wants to see you in his office, pronto." Said the man.

"Oh, ok, sure thing." Troy grabbed his keys and walked out. It had to be important if the boss wanted to see him now, on his lunch break.

10 minutes later he had made his way to the office of his boss, Jack Boone. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." said a firm voice. Troy opened the door and stepped in.

"Oh, Bolton, yes come in, come in. Take a seat." said Jack.

"Thank you sir, someone told me you wanted to see me." Troy said slightly anxious.

"Yes, well you see, I have something for you to do. It's something we've been on for years, and now its time we finally take care of it."

Jack Boone sat forward and looked straight at Troy.

"Tony Martinez is on the loose."

Troy stared at him in shock. "Martinez? Again? I thought he was in jail."

"Nope, he got out a few months ago. And he's planning something so big, that it could affect the entire country. We have to stop him before he does that."

"But how do you suggest we do that?" Troy said sitting back, feeling certain of what was going to be said next.

"Well, that's where you come in. For his plan to succeed he needs one thing, a ring, a ruby ring. He'll stop at nothing to get it."

"So we just have to get the ring before he does." Troy said, speaking his thoughts.

"That's about the shape of it."

They sat in silence for a moment, then Troy asked something.

"Where is it?" Jack looked at him closely. "A girl." He said simply.

Troy starred at him blankly. "You mean a girl has it? How is that possible?"

"Well you see, this ring has a history in this family of hers. Its been passed down to each daughter in the family. At one point in time, the Martinez family owned it. Now Tony wants it."

"Does the girl have any idea about the whole ordeal?" Troy asked worried.

"No, but Rob was in Massachusetts last week and was getting gas and saw a girl run into the store, a minute later two guys ran in as well. The men came out looking discouraged. They had obviously been looking for the girl. Rob yesterday identified the two men as two of Tony's men."

Troy looked into space thinking hard. "So that must have been the girl with the ring. I bet she was terrified."

"Exactly, that's why we have to protect her and stop Tony from getting that ring. I want you to got up to Massachusetts and keep an eye on the girl."

"Of course I will. I'd like just as much to see Tony taken care of as anyone."

Troy got up and started to walk to the door, then he stopped.

"By the way, what's the name of the girl?" he asked curiously.

"Gabriella Montez."

**(a/n: well there's the first chapter. I decide this time to make it an action/adventure/romance type of story because that's my favorite type of book to read. So I hope you guys will enjoy it. Please read and review and tell me whether or not you want me to continue.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Recap**:

"By the way, what's the name of this girl?" Troy asked curiously.

"Gabriella Montez."

**End Recap**

Troy's jaw dropped. Gabriella Montez? Could it really be who he thought it was?

Troy left the room, and started to walk out of the building to go to lunch. His mind was racing a mile a minute. How could he possibly try to protect the one girl he loved? Would she remember him? Would she still like him as much as she used to? Everything was just muddled up in his brain that he accidentally started to walk into a busy road.

BEEP! BEEP! HONK!

Troy snapped back to reality and quickly got out of the road. He found his car and started to drive to Wendy's down the street. He ordered his food in the drive thru then drove to the park where he could be alone and think.

He sat down next to a gigantic tree, and started to eat his lunch. His mind started to wander off to different things. Somehow, his thoughts wandered to the last time that he saw Gabriella.

**Flashback**

It was a beautiful spring day, and it was his last day of High School. He was ready to go out into the world and get a life.

School had just ended, and he was walking home. Suddenly he heard a voice behind him.

"Troy! Troy, wait for me!"

He turned around to see a his beautiful, talented best friend. Gabriella Montez. Once she caught up with him, she leaned over to catch her breath.

"Thought you could slip away on the last day of school huh?" she said teasingly.

Troy laughed. "Never, I was just too excited that it was the last day of school." They started to walk down the sidewalk together. They talked about all the fun times they had during school, and what plans they had for summer, and life basically. As Gabriella talked about her plans to go to Harvard, Troy couldn't help but stare at her. He really liked her, but was too scared to tell her how he felt. He didn't want to ruin the perfect friendship.

"Troy, are you listening?" Gabriella asked.

Troy snapped back to reality. "Oh, yeah, sorry." They continued down the sidewalk, until the came to Gabriella's house.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later Troy." Gabriella said.

"Yeah, sure. I'll call you." Troy said. "Great, see you later." And with that Gabriella walked into her house.

Troy continued to walk home. Not knowing it at the time, Troy was about to find out that they were moving that day to Washington D.C. because his dad got a job there. He never got a chance to say goodbye to Gabriella.

**End Flashback**

Troy sat back against the tree and thought what Gabriella might think if he just suddenly came back into his life. _She probably won't even speak to me_. He thought, she probably was still mad at him because he never said goodbye.

Suddenly his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bolton, it's Ryan, we've got your plane tickets for Massachusetts. You leave tonight at 7:00."

"I'm leaving that soon? That's kind of rushing it, don't you think?"

"The chief said for you to leave right away. So I would pack your things now."

"Ok, ok, whatever. I'll come get the tickets before I head back to my place to pack. Thanks Ryan."

"No prob Troy. See you soon."

"Bye." Troy hung up his phone and picked up his things and walked back to his car. 15 minutes later he walked up to Ryan's office to pick up the tickets.

"Hey my man. Where's those tickets you were talking about?" Troy said, walking into the office.

"Oh, hey, Troy, they're right here. Plane leaves at 7:00 but your supposed to be there a half and hour early."

"Ok, thanks dude. See you in a while."

"Have fun Bolton."

Troy laughed as he walked out. "Oh I will."

He walked back out to his car, and drove to his apartment. In a little while, he would be off to see the girl he loved.

CIACIACIACIAICIACIACIACIACIACIAICIAICIACIACIACIACIAICAICACIACIA

After the episode with the two men, Gabriella didn't go anywhere alone. She made sure she was with her roommate, or a friend.

One day, as she so happened to be alone as she was driving back to her apartment, she noticed that the same car was behind her that had been 20 minutes ago. This made her nervous.

She turned left, and watched to see if the car did too. It did. This was not good. She sped up a little and then turned a hard right. She quickly turned into an alley way. She turned off her lights and sat still. Then she saw the car speed past.

Gabriella sighed in relief. Why are these people after her? She turned her lights back on and drove out onto the road and quickly drove to her apartment. She swiftly got into her room and locked the door.

She needed help.

HELPEHLPEHlPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELP

"You may now exit the plane. Thank for Flying with us." Said the intercom.

Troy got out of his seat, and left the plane. First thing was first, he needed to get to the hotel he was reserved at, then he would try to contact Gabriella.

He called a cab, and found the hotel he was staying at. He checked in and took his things up to his room. Then feeling slightly self conscience about meeting Gabriella again, he took a shower and tried to make himself look nice.

Then finding the address of her apartment in his briefcase, he headed out the door. Usually he wasn't nervous to meet the people he was helping, but this was an exception.

As he got to her apartment complex, he heard a scream. And it was no fake scream. He ran in and tried to find where it came from. As he ran up the stairs, he saw a man banging on a door, with a gun in his hand.

Troy snuck up behind him and then bashed him hard on the head. He took his gun, and immediately call the police. Then he looked at the door number. It was Gabriella's door. He softly knocked on the door.

"Gabriella, are you there? It's ok, the man's unconscious."

The door slit open. "Are you sure?"

Troy smiled. "Positive." The door opened all the way. There she stood. Gabriella Montez.

She looked at him in disbelief. "Troy, Troy Bolton?" Troy laughed.

"The one and only." Gabriella laughed. "I can't believe it's really you. I thought I would never see you again."

Troy looked down in embarrassment. "Yeah, about that, I'm really sorry. I should have tried to write or call, something."

"Oh, it's ok now. I got over it in time." They stood there in awkward silence.

"Well, thanks for taking care of that guy. He was starting to scare me." Gabriella said.

"Oh, yeah, that's why I'm here. I've been sent to protect you and the ring." Troy said informatively.

"What, to protect me, that doesn't make sense." Gabriella said puzzled.

"I know, its quite complicating actually. So I'll give you the Readers Digest version. I work for the CIA. We know pretty much everything that has happened in the country. It just so happens you are one of those things. A guy is trying to kill you and get something you have. I'm here to protect you and that thing." Troy said simply.

Gabriella looked at him closely. "So you know about the guys that keep going after me?"

"Yep. But do you know why they're after you?" Troy said suspiciously.

Gabriella looked down.

"No. That's what's been scaring me so much." She said softly.

"Well…" But Troy was cut off when a bunch of officers came running down the hall.

"Is this the man?" the officer asked.

"Yep, take him away gentleman." The officers carried him off and left.

Once they were gone, Troy turned back to Gabriella, ready to explain to her the whole ordeal.

But Gabriella was looking at her watch.

"Oh dang, I've got to go. I have a class to be in." Gabriella ran back in the room and grabbed her stuff.

"But wait, I have to go with you then. Who knows what might happen." Troy said stopping her.

"Well, just don't make it obvious then." Gabriella said.

"I'll do my best." Troy said laughing.

Gabriella ran down the hall and down the stairs. Troy followed her, but wasn't quite as fast. He got in his car, and followed hers to her class. Then from then on, he kept his distance, but stayed close enough to watch out for her.

**(a/n: well, there's that chapter. What do you think….is it ok…..i'm open for suggestions…please read and review. Thanks)**


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Troy got up from his hotel bed and took a shower. He had gotten in late last night because Gabriella had wanted to go out with her friends. So he obviously had to tag along to watch her.

Troy looked in the mirror and yawned. It was going to be a long day. He quickly got dressed and headed out the door.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was just waking up as well. She got out of bed, got dressed, and made some cereal. As she was sitting there eating, the door bell rang.

Being slightly cautious, she slit the door open.

"Gabriella, its me, Troy."

Gabriella sighed with relief. "Thank heavens its only you. Come in."

She opened the door and led him in. Then she sat back down and continued eating her cereal.

"You can sit down." She said, noticing he was still standing.

Troy smiled a little and took a seat next to her. He looked at her closely, and decided it was time.

"Gabriella, I need to ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

Troy continued. "Well, I was wondering do you by chance have a ruby red ring in your possession? It has 1 ruby in the middle, with diamonds surrounding it, and it has a gold band."

Gabriella looked at him strangely. " Yeah I do. Why do you ask?" she said puzzled.

"Well you see, that's why these men are after you."

Gabriella immediately snapped her head up. He had her _full_ attention.

"What do you mean? Its just a ring that my mother gave to me."

Without thinking, Troy took her hand in his. "Well, this is how it is."

He then told her all about Tony Martinez, how he escaped and why he did. Then he told her all about the history of the ring, and why Tony needs it.

"We don't know exactly what Tony means to do with the ring, we just know it's the only way his plan will work."

Gabriella looked down at her hand which was still in Troy's. At single tear fell from her face. She didn't know what to think.

"So, am I going to die?" she asked hesitantly.

Troy, shocked at her question, got down on his hands and knees in front of her.

"No, no, Gabriella. You are not going to die, not if I can help it."

Gabriella still didn't look at him. Troy lifted her face with his finger, and looked her in the eye.

"By my word, you will not die. And Tony will not succeed."

Gabriella looked at him. She so wanted to believe him. Maybe it was a miracle that he had come back into her life.

"Well then, you better not lose this game Wildcat." She said through her tear stained face.

Troy smiled up at her. "Not if my name's not Troy Bolton." He stood up and stretched.

"So malady, where are we bound today?"

Troy sat in worry in Gabriella's apartment. She had gone to the post office just across the street and she had convinced him he didn't need to go with her. Why he had ever agreed to it, he didn't know. She had been gone almost a half an hour, and she was only supposed to be getting stamps.

Feeling anxious with worry, he got up and raced out the door. He ran across the street, and into the post office. He scanned the room, but there was no sign of her. This was not good. He ran back out and walked out onto the side walk, looking up and down. Where could she be? He walked down the street looking in earnest.

"Pst, PSSTT!"

Troy looked to his left. There behind and old garbage dumpster was Gabriella.

Troy quickly ran over to her. "Gabriella! Oh my gosh, I found you, I was so…."

"Will you be quite and get behind here." Gabriella whispered, pulling him towards her and behind the garbage dumpster.

"What happened?" Troy whispered.

"I went to the post office and just as I was leaving I saw the man that had followed me at the park. So I quickly hid. Sorry, I should have let you come."

"It wasn't your fault. Don't worry; everything's going to be ok."

Troy poked his head out from behind the dumpster. He spotted the man Gabriella was referring to.

"He's still out there." He whispered.

Gabriella moaned. "I'm so tired of them going after me. Why did this ever have to happen to me?" she said sadly.

"Hey, hey, its ok. I'm sure it happened for a reason, and a good one too. Don't worry, I'll get us out of here."

Troy then moved his foot and accidentally hit the dumpster, causing a banging noise.

Gabriella gasped. Without thinking, she grabbed on to Troy and held tight. Troy held her close and they held their breath, hoping the man hadn't heard it.

They heard footsteps coming their way. A man's voice was heard.

"I was sure it came from over here." said a rough voice.

"I think your hearing things again. Come on, let's get back to headquarters."

The footsteps faded away, and were eventually silent. It wasn't until they were that Troy and Gabriella breathed again.

"That was close." Gabriella said.

"Too close." Said Troy. They got out from behind the dumpster and stretched their stiff limbs.

"Well, since we know those guys won't be around for awhile, why don't we get some exercise and take a walk to the park." Troy suggested.

"Sure, ok." They started to walk down the street, and towards the park. Troy decided he should be the first to speak.

"So, Gabriella, how have you been?"

She sighed. "Oh, ok, I guess. Just trying to get through school."

"Well that's nice." They walked in silence for a moment.

"What about you Troy, how have you made off since you left me without telling me?" she asked.

Troy winced at the last part of her question. He knew that was going to be brought up.

"Gabriella, look, I know this is hard to say, but it wasn't my fault."

"Wasn't your fault? Who was the one who didn't even tell me that they were moving? Who was the one that didn't bother to try and get in touch again? Don't be telling me it wasn't your fault." Gabriella looked away in anger.

"Gabriella, please let me explain. The day that I was told we were moving, we left that day. I didn't have time to tell you, or anything. I was to much in shock to do anything."

Gabriella looked back at him. "How do I know that you're telling me the truth?"

"You don't I guess. But I would believe me." Gabriella didn't say anything until they were at the park. Troy assumed she was thinking things through, so he staying quiet.

Once they had gotten to the park, they sat down in a nice shady spot. It was then that she finally spoke up.

"I want to believe you Troy. I really do." She said looking down and the grass.

"I want you to believe me too." Troy said sympathetically.

Gabriella stood up and turned her back away from him. "I was just so hurt when you left. My whole life just came down on me."

Troy sat there. "Mine did too. I didn't think I'd ever get over it."

"I couldn't believe you would have actually just left me. I didn't think you would have had a good reason." Gabriella said in a shaky voice, she was obviously crying.

Troy, feeling worried about her, stood up and walked over to her.

"And there was a good reason." He said into her ear. He turned her around to face him.

They looked at each other for what seemed a century. Her teary face stared at his handsome, tanned one. Blue eyes met brown. What seemed to have been still blocking between them as torn down through their eyes, not words. Then as if they both knew everything was alright, their lips crashed down on each others. Troy wrapped his arms around her and held her close as they continued to kiss. Gabriella, quickly pulling back, gasped for air, and looked at Troy.

"How did that happen?" She said with a confused look on her face.

Troy smiled. "I don't know, but I sure enjoyed it." Gabriella blushed, and Troy leaned down to capture her lips once more.

Suddenly a bullet blasted past them. Gabriella screamed. Troy quickly got out his gun and grabbed Gabriella. He pulled them, behind a large tree and leaned against it.

Another shot rang out. Troy shot toward where it was coming from. It was a battle of bullets, when the police suddenly arrived. They surrounded the man that was shooting and started to go after Troy, but he pulled out his CIA badge, and they understood. Soon they had the man, and took him away.

An officer came up to Troy, who was helping the shaking Gabriella up.

"Excuse me, but what exactly was going here?"

Troy explained the whole ordeal.

"Well in that case, if you ever need help, please let us know." The officer said.

"Thank you sir. It would be appreciated. Now if you'll excuse us."

Troy grabbed Gabriella's arm and helped her walk back to her apartment. As they walked in the door, Troy helped her take off her coat and sat her down.

"Are you going to be ok Gabriella?" he asked soothingly.

"Yeah I'll be fine. Thanks for saving my life again." She said smiling.

"It was a pleasure. Now I suggest you eat some dinner and get to bed. I'll be back in the morning. Make sure all your windows and doors are locked." Troy turned to go, when she called him.

"Bye Troy." She said.

Troy turned to look at her. He walked back over and kissed her. Then he turned to leave.

"See you tomorrow."

**(a/n: ok, sigh, there's that one. How do you like it? Did I do too much fluff, or to little? To much action or not enough. Please tell me what you think. Thanks)**


	4. Chapter 4

"I need more help." Troy said into the phone. After the happenings of last night, he decided he couldn't do this by himself. So, this morning he had called headquarters and was trying to convince Jack that he needed more help.

"I just need a few more guys to stay undercover around us. If something happened that I couldn't handle, I'll need professional help." Troy said.

"If it's that bad, then I'll send Tyler, Sam, and Alex down immediately." said Jack with a twinge of irritation.

"Thanks, it will be greatly appreciated. Tell them I'll meet them at the airport to talk with them." Troy said quickly.

"Ok, keep in touch."

"Bye." Troy hung up the phone in his hotel room and collapsed on the bed. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

He stared up at the ceiling, imagining Gabriella's pretty face. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Troy sat up, and walked to the door. To his surprise, Gabriella was standing there in pajamas and looked flustered and was heavily breathing.

"Gabriella what's…," but he was interrupted when she ran in the room and locked the door behind her.

"They're after me again Troy."

"What, already? Oh, I'm sorry; I should have been there by now." Troy said immediately feeling terrible.

"It's not…" Suddenly there was a banging noise on the door. Gabriella jumped and ran into the room, hiding in the bathroom.

Troy, still standing there, put his brain to work. What was better, answer the door and tell them to go away, or somehow get out of the room besides the front door.

There was another banging on the door. Troy had to think fast. He ran over to the window and looked down. The ground was right there. Good. They could get out that way.

"Gabriella, Gabriella come here." He whispered. She came out the bathroom.

He pointed to the window. She nodded and climbed out of it. He followed her, and then closed the window.

As they were running around the corner, he heard a crashing noise in the room. They must have broken the door down.

They ran to the back of the hotel building, where a truck was getting ready to leave, and stopped.

"How did they find know you were in my room?" Troy asked catching his breath.

Gabriella heaved. "I don't know."

Then, as if from out of nowhere, two men where running down to where they stood.

"Troy, they're the men!" Gabriella cried. Troy looked around. They were closed in, except…..

"Gabriella, get into the truck!" Troy lifted her into the moving truck, and then hoisted himself in. The truck starting accelerating, and soon left the men in the dust.

Troy and Gabriella heaved great sighs, as they lay low in the truck bed, so the driver didn't see them.

"Well that was pure genius, Troy." Gabriella said.

Troy laughed. "No, just luck. Had this truck not been here, we would have been in some trouble."

"Luck or not, it was genius. Now we just have to worry about getting out of this truck."

"We'll just have to wait till it stops and the driver gets out. So get comfortable, we might be here for awhile." Troy said thoughtfully.

Gabriella laughed softly. "Seeming how we're both in our pajamas, that shouldn't be a problem."

Troy looked down. He had forgotten that he hadn't changed either. He chuckled, and put his hands behind his head as a pillow.

Gabriella lay on her stomach, also resting her head on her hands, and tried to get in a comfortable position. Troy, noticing how uncomfortable she was, patted his stomach.

"Do you want to lay your head here? It would be more comfortable." He said holding out his arm to her.

Gabriella looked at him, then scooted over by him and laid her head on his chest. Troy pulled her close to him by wrapping one arm around her.

They soon both fell asleep, despite the noisy street.

Troy was jerked awake, when the truck came to a sudden halt. He heard the car to off, and heard a door slam.

Gabriella, how had also been shook awake, looked up at him hopefully. Troy put a finger to his lips, signaling to be quite.

He gently let go of her, and inched to the side of the truck. He peeked over the side and looked around.

Nobody was in the car, or around anywhere.

"Ok, Gabriella. Let's get out, and quick." Troy jumped out, and helped Gabriella climb out, then they ran to the side of the building where no one could see them.

As Troy sat thinking about what to do next, he noticed Gabriella was fiddling with something on her finger. It was the ruby ring.

"You don't take that thing off do you?" Troy said. Gabriella looked at him.

"Nope, except for when I shower. It was a precious gift, and I don't plan on losing it." She said with pride.

"I don't blame you. I just hope it doesn't cost your life." Troy said with concern in his eyes.

Gabriella walked over to him and put her arms around him. She looked up at him, with courage in her eyes.

"Don't worry, no one can take it from me without a good fight. Especially when I have the Wildcat star on my side." She said with a smile. A smile that could melt your insides.

Troy looked at her with admiration. He was so proud of her. She was taking it with such confidence.

"You know what, I knew I made a right decision to take this case." He said smiling back at her. He kissed gave a peck on the lips and then an arm around her shoulder.

"So, how about we hit this place and get back home? I think it would be easiest if we just called a taxi. Don't you think?" he said cheerfully.

"Bombs away." Gabriella said jokingly.

Troy got a taxi and they drove off.

**(a/n: ok, there's that one. Sorry it took kind of a while. I've been busy. I'll do my best to update a quick as I can. Please tell me how you liked this one. Thank you for reviewing before, it really helps me. Thanks for reading. Please read and review)**


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as Troy had dropped Gabriella off at her apartment, promising to be right back, he headed to his hotel room, changed and took off for the airport. He needed to meet Tyler, Sam, and Alex at the airport.

Troy walked around the airport, looking in earnest for the threesome. Just as he was about to call one of them, he heard his name being called.

"Troy! Troy, over here!" Troy turned and saw them standing there with their luggage.

"Hey, there you guys are! I've been looking everywhere." As they approached each other, they all smiled and talked happily for a few moments.

"So, how goes things back home?" Troy asked.

"Oh, same old same old." said Tyler. Tyler was a tall blonde, chocolate brown eyed man who had a very athletic build, and always had a smile.

"Yeah, nothing ever happens anymore down there." replied Alex. Alex was strawberry blonde, happy brown eyes, tall and had the most positive attitude anyone could have.

"All that we get now is stupid police issues, nothing ever exciting like this." added Sam. Sam was 6ft, sandy brown hair, shocking blue eyes, and had a laugh that anyone would fall for.

Troy smiled at all their comments. "Well, at least I'm not missing anything."

And with that they grabbed their bags and headed out. Once in Troy's car, Troy started to give them the run down of their jobs.

"Now, the point is to never leave Ms. Montez alone or unwatched. During the day I'll be with her, but all of you will need to be close by in case anything happens. At night, we'll work in shifts of two. Sam and I will take half the night, then at around 1:00 Tyler and Alex will take over. Don't fall asleep, or lose sight of each other, and most importantly, don't let anyone get to Gabriella. If Martinez gets that ring, we're all doomed. Everybody got it?"

All of them shook their head in affirmative. Troy pulled into the hotel parking lot, and helped them get their rooms. Soon they were all off back to Gabriella's.

Troy knocked on Gabriella's door.

"Who is it?" said a muffled voice. "It's Troy, Gabriella." The door immediately opened, and they walked in.

"I thought you'd never get here." Gabriella said relieved.

"Sorry, I had to pick up these guys. Gabriella, this is Tyler, Sam, and Alex. They're going to help keep watch of you." Troy said, pointing to each one.

Gabriella shook all their hands, smiling. "It's very nice to meet you."

"You as well Ms. Montez." answered Tyler.

"Ok, boys, now go out to your posts, and follow us discreetly if we leave." Troy said quickly.

Tyler, Alex, and Sam all walked out, closing the door behind them.

"So, was I too much for you?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at her reassuring. "No, I just needed more help incase something were to happen that's all. They're just going to be my background men. Don't worry, you've still got me." Troy said with a smile.

Gabriella gave a half smile, and sat down. Troy looked at her worriedly. He walked over to her and put an arm around her.

"Is everything ok?" Troy asked softly. Gabriella sighed. "Yeah, I just have this strange feeling. A bad feeling."

Troy looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I just have this feeling something's going to happen." Gabriella stood up and walked over to the window, her back to him.

Troy stared at her back, trying to think of something comforting. As he stood up and started to walk over to her, Gabriella continued to talk.

"I'm trying to be brave, but I just want it to all be over." Troy put his hand on her shoulder. She turned around, and started to study her feet.

Troy put a finger under her chin, and lifted her head. "Gabriella, nothing is going to happen. I'm right here, and as long as I live you will be safe."

Gabriella's eyes started to water. She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed quietly. Troy put his arms around her, rubbing her back reassuringly.

"Shh, shh, its ok." Troy said soothingly. Once she had regained control again, Gabriella pulled back and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry, it just kind of came out." She said shakily.

"Don't worry, that's why I'm here." Troy said smiling a little. He then leaned down and gently kissed her. Oh, how he loved the feel of those warm, soft lips. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, as hers went around his neck. Troy started to deepen the kiss, when his phone rang.

Gabriella pulled back slowly. "You better get that." She let go of him and walked into her room.

Troy watched her longingly, and then answered his phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Bolton, it's Tom. I've got some info here about Tony that you might want."

"Oh, ok, um, can I call you back in like an hour. I'm kind of busy." Troy said.

(a/n: Tom works for the CIA by the way.)

"Yeah, no prob."

"Thanks, bye." Troy hung up his phone and walked over to the door which Gabriella was behind.

"Gabriella, Gabriella." Troy said softly. No answer. He opened the door carefully.

He looked around the room. Gabriella was no where to be found. Troy looked around frantically.

He felt a cool breeze. The window. The window was wide open. He noticed an envelope stuck in between the window and the frame.

He opened it.

_**Now we've got her. And there's nothing you**_

_**do about it. By Saturday afternoon, you'll have wished**_

_**you'd never been born. **_

T.M.

Troy read and reread the note over and over again. This couldn't be happening. He had only been in the other room for 2 minutes. He hadn't even heard anything.

Troy flopped on the floor, and surprisingly started to cry. How could he had been so stupid? Now she was gone, and he had no idea where she might be.

_Get a grip on yourself Bolton. You're a top agent for the CIA, and your sitting here bawling. _

_You can do something. Use that brain that was given to you. You can do whatever you put your mind to. Gabriella's counting on you. And so is the world. _

Troy sat up straight. Kicked himself mentally, and thanking his conscience. He grabbed the note and walked out. He was going to find her. But he couldn't do it alone.

Troy walked outside and spotted Tyler sitting on a bench across the street, pretending to read a book.

Troy walked over to him.

"Gabriella's gone." He said. Tyler looked at him in amazement. "What, how, when?"

"I don't know. She was in her room for two minutes, and then she was gone. Where are the other two?"

Tyler called the other two over his ear piece. Soon Alex and Sam were standing with them.

"Ok, first we need to find out where they might have taken her." Troy said. They all sat in silence.

Then in dawned on Troy. He took out the note, and opened it up.

"Ah ha." Troy said triumphantly. Alex, Sam and Tyler all jumped. "What, what is it?" they asked.

"Look her on the back of the note. The Hewlett Hotel. That's 10 minutes from here."

And without another word, they jumped into Troy's car and drove off.

**(a/n: well, there's that one. How was it? I'm trying to tense it up a bit. Please tell me your thoughts. R&R. thanks)**


	6. Chapter 6

Troy pulled up in front of the hotel. They all got out and walked swiftly into the lobby. Troy walked up to the desk clerk.

"Excuse me, but I was wondering if someone has checked out of here at all today. He's an older looking man, with black hair, dark eyes, and pretty tall. He probably had a couple of other guys with him."

The clerk looked down in his book. "Let's see here. Ah yes, someone did check out of here. A man by the name of Ruben Anderson."

"Great, can I have the key to his room, please?"

The clerk looked at him questioningly. "I don't think that's such a great idea."

Troy, Sam, Alex and Tyler all pulled out their CIA badges. This changed the clerks mind immediately.

He grabbed the key and handed it to Troy quickly.

"Thank you very much for cooperation." Troy said and they all headed for the elevator.

They got off on level 8 and started down the hall.

"Look for #127." Troy said quietly. They ran up and down the halls for a few minutes until Alex spotted it.

"Hey, here it is." They all ran toward Alex and Troy opened the door quietly.

Gun at hand, they all walked in slowly and silently. They checked the room for anybody or anything, and then feeling satisfied, started to look around for any clues.

After about an hour of no luck, they all sat on the bed, trying to think of where to go next.

Troy heaved a sigh, and put his head in his hands.

_Where could they be?_ He thought to himself. He stood up and started pacing. His thoughts were interrupted when Tyler said something.

"Hey, what's this?" He said puzzled. He was holding a small piece of white paper.

Troy took it and examined it. There was an address on it, as well as a date and time.

"Where did you find this?" Troy asked. "In the garbage can, over there by the door." Tyler answered.

"Does anybody recognize this address? Wherever it is, Gabriella might be there. Whoever wrote this is meeting someone there today at 5:30 pm." Troy explained.

Sam took the paper from Troy and looked at the address.

"It's over by the post office, across the street to be exact." Sam said straightly.

Everybody looked at him shocked at his statement.

"And how would you know?" Alex inquired. "I grew up in Massachusetts." Sam replied.

Troy looked at all of them, with a light in his eyes.

"That's it! This is the address to Gabriella's complex building. Gabriella never left the complex!"

They rushed out the door, and flew down the elevator.

!#$&()!#$()!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()!#!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()

Gabriella squirmed around. She was tied up by the hands and ankles. She was also gagged and blindfolded. As soon as she had left Troy to go into her room, she was immediately struck by something and knocked out. The next thing she knew was that she was being dropped on the ground roughly, and was all tied up.

She could hear voices behind her. She listened intently, hoping to find out where she was and who kidnapped her.

"Did you get the ring?" said a chilling voice. No one answered.

"I SAID DID YOU GET THE RING!" yelled the voice again.

"No sir, we looked all over the room. But we brought the girl, just liked you asked." said a slightly scared and hesitant voice.

"That's all you can ever do." said the harsher man.

By the sounds of it, Gabriella guessed the rougher man was Tony Martinez. He must have ordered them to kidnap her and get her ring. Lucky for her the ring was still in her pocket, where she put it this morning.

"What about that CIA agent? Did you take care of him too?" said Martinez.

"He wasn't in the room when we took her. So we just left." The smaller man said.

Gabriella was immediately alert. They were talking about Troy.

"You mean to tell me that you didn't even look around the rest of the apartment? You morons! Why am I the only one ever thinking?" Martinez said frustrated.

"We have to take care of him or he could ruin everything. Go now!" Martinez shouted.

Gabriella smiled at the thought of Troy scaring this man. She knew that he would come, whatever it took.

She heard footsteps fade away and slam the door. She listened closely to hear if anyone else was there. When she was sure no one else was there, she started the long tedious process of get untied.

**(a/n: I'm soooo sorry its taken so long to update. my life has been a circus. please read and review this chapter. i would gladly take suggestions for what should happen next. thanks)**


	7. Chapter 7

**(a/n: I am soooooo sorry! It has been forever since I last updated. My life has just been crazy! But with spring break, I hope to finish it this week. Please forgive me, and my teenage life….thanx)**

**Recap:**

"**We have to take care of him or he could ruin everything. Go now!" Martinez shouted.**

**Gabriella smiled at the thought of Troy scaring this man. She knew that he would come, whatever it took.**

**She heard footsteps fade away and slam the door. She listened closely to hear if anyone else was there. When she was sure no one else was there, she started the long tedious process of get untied.**

**End Recap**

Gabriella carefully moved around to try and find something to help her get untied. If she could get her hands untied, then the rest would be easy.

As she inched along on the floor, her feet suddenly hit something hard, and metal. She slowly tried to turn her body around, hoping she'd end up in the right place, because its very hard to move blindfolded.

When she had thought she had turned enough, she eased her head forward to see if she would hit something.

YES! She bumped into something.

After what seemed a century, she had somehow been able to pull the blindfold down her face, so now she could see.

All that was left was………….everything else.

CIACIACIACIAICIACIACIACIACIACIACIAICIACICIAICIAICICICIAICIACIACIA

"We better be right about this." Troy said hopefully, as the four of them jumped out of the car, and ran towards the complex building.

Once inside, Troy stopped suddenly. "If they never left the building, where is the most likely place to keep someone?" he asked.

"I would think the basement. It's the farthest away from everyone else." Tyler said quickly.

Troy laughed at his stupidity. "Smart." All of the sudden, a shot rang passed them.

Out of pure instinct, the all ran for cover, and pulled out there own guns.

Troy could see four men coming straight to where they were standing. Not wanting to bother too much with them, and seeming how they were running out of time, Troy fired a shot and hit the closest guy running.

Taking the hint, Tyler fired and hit the next. Then Sam and Alex took care of the other two.

They all stepped out of their hiding spots.

"Well done boys." Troy commented, and then led the way to the stairs.

!#$&&(!#&())!#$&()(&#$!!!#$&(($$

Gabriella was finally untied. It had taken awhile, but she had finally succeeded and was stretching her aching limbs.

Suddenly she heard a noise coming from the stairs. She quickly stepped behind the wall, and listened.

A door opened and closed. She could hear the sound of feet shuffling the floor. Then a voice.

"Tyler and Sam, you go that way, Alex you go look in those rooms. I'll look in here. And be SILENT."

Gabriella's heart soared when she heard this voice. Could it really be Troy? She peeked around the corner. It WAS Troy.

"Troy!" Troy looked up, and his eyes widened. He ran to her and held her tightly in his arms. Then their lips crashed on each others. His mouth was hot and hungry on hers. He could feel her hands go up into his hair.

They finally broke apart when they needed air. Troy looked at her. His eyes were full of love, tenderness and relief.

He choked back tears as he said, "I thought I had lost you."

She smiled through her own tears. "You could never lose me; you're stuck with me for good."

"Awwww, how sweet. It's a shame that you're both going to have to die anyways."

Troy and Gabriella both turned at the sound of the chilling voice. It Martinez, and they both knew it. Troy felt Gabriella grab on tightly to him.

"What makes you think we're going to die?" Troy said strongly.

"It's obvious isn't it? You tried to mess up my plan. You have to pay the penalty." He said as thought he were speaking of a child's game.

Troy suddenly saw Tyler, Sam, and Alex stand quietly in the shadows. Troy thanked heaven that he had asked for them to come.

"You know what Martinez, you may be clever, and you may be cunning. But you don't have what it takes to be a real man." Troy said boldly.

Martinez smirked at the remark. "You actually think you can take me? What are they teaching you CIA people these days? Honestly."

Troy smiled. "You be more surprised at how out numbered you are." Then as if they had all planned it, Tyler, Sam and Alex all bashed him across the head with their guns. Troy punched him, and that put him out cold.

Gabriella ran into Troy's strong arms and held tightly. Troy sighed. He looked down at Gabriella's finger, with held the ruby ring, and then up to the other 3 as they tied him up, Troy thought to himself. _It's done._

**(a/n: okay, so I'm planning on one more chapter, and then maybe a sequel. I like the romance/action and adventure. Don't you? Tell me what you think so far. Thanks)**


	8. Chapter 8

**(a/n: once again….I'm sorry. me and my teenage brain just can't remember things. I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever. here's the last chapter to this one. I think I'll do a sequel. And since summer is practically here…I think I can keep it updated.)**

It had been almost a month since Martinez had been captured. Afterward, it seemed life just fell back into place. Except for one thing. Gabriella. Troy's life had been completely changed when she suddenly came back into his life. But after Martinez was taken into custody, Troy had to return to the CIA headquarters for another assignment. He had tried calling Gabriella, but no one ever picked up.

It was on a Friday afternoon when Troy had finally had enough.

"Chief, this is Troy Bolton. I'm really sorry, but I'm not going to be able to come into the office this weekend, an emergency has come up, and I need to leave." Troy said in a rushed and nervous voice.

"It sounds important. So I guess I better let you go, you've earned a break. So why don't you take the whole next week off. I'll contact you if we're desperate." The chief said in a warm voice.

Troy smiled. "Thanks a million chief. Bye." Troy hung up the phone and started packing.

CIACIACIACIAICIACIACIACIACIACIACIAICIACICIAICIAICICICIAICIACIACIA

Gabriella sighed as she sat reading a book for her English class. She fiddled with the ruby ring on her finger and sighed again. For the past month, it seemed she had been in kind of a daze, and in another world. _And it was all because of that darn Troy Bolton,_ she thought. It had felt like years since she had felt like life could actually be perfect when he was with her. But ever since he left, it felt as if she had been drained of all emotion and strength to go on. She knew now that she needed him for every breath that she took.

Gabriella's thought were interrupted when she heard the door bell ring. None of her roommates were home, so she had to go and get it. She slowly got up and trudged to the door.

When she opened it, all she had time to do was gasp in shock before her mouth was covered with the soft lips of the one and only, Troy Bolton.

As soon as she recovered from the shock, she melted into his arms and responded to his kiss. She had been dreaming of this feeling for what seemed like an eternity.

When they felt that they couldn't go on any longer without air, they pulled back and looked at each other, breathing heavily.

"Gabriella I'm…"

Gabriella pressed a soft finger to his lips.

"Just kiss me." Troy grinned from ear to ear like a little boy who just made the basketball team.

He leaned down and pressed his lips once more to hers, and Gabriella felt her will crumble in his deeply tanned and muscular hands. Troy let out all the emotion and longing he had built up in the past month and just kissed her. His arms snaked around her waist and he held her tightly against him. He could feel her hands running through his silky, sandy blonde hair, while he caressed her face. Gabriella let out a sigh, and pulled back to breathe.

Troy leaned his head down and buried his face in her sweet smelling hair. "I love you Gabriella Montez. And I can't imagine my life without you."

Gabriella smiled into the warm hollow of his neck and whispered.

"I love you too, and always will."

And with that, he kissed her again, knowing that no matter what happened, everything was going to be okay.

**(a/n: well, there you have it. I finally finished it. Sigh…..I can't believe it took me that long. I should have the first chapter of the sequel up this weekend. Thanks for sticking it out with me. Please read and review, and give anymore suggestions for the sequel.)**


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